Kris Noble, assistant Hyde county manager, issued the following statement today:
Hyde County has received hundreds of business and individual claim forms from those affected by our recent electric power outage.
We appreciate everyone submitting their information so promptly. In an effort to minimize duplication of work and to save all those affected valuable time, Hyde County has reached out to the claims team working on behalf of PCL for a solution to submitting claims.
Hyde County is working with the PCL claim team to transfer all of the claims that have been submitted directly to Hyde County to the PCL claim team. PCL will accept the claim forms in the format submitted to Hyde County. This will alleviate the need to submit a claim to both Hyde County and the PCL claim team.
We realize that our original request was for all those affected to submit directly to Hyde County, and then the process further changed when we released information that the claim would have to be submitted directly to PCL via the PCL website only. It was after looking at the amount of data that needed to be transferred that Hyde County reached out to the PCL claim team to come up with a better solution.
If you have already submitted your information directly to PCL no further action is needed at this time. If you have already submitted your information directly to Hyde County no further action is needed at this time. If that changes, we will alert all claimants immediately. If you would like to submit to both PCL and Hyde County, that is acceptable as well. The goal is to make sure no one is left behind.
You may be contacted by Hyde County staff or the PCL claims team for additional information in the coming days. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Hyde County with questions. Please contact Kris Noble directly at 252-926-4180 in regard to the process.
Hyde County agrees with Bradford Sneeden, legislative counsel with the N.C. Attorney General’s Office in a recent letter to the Dare County Board of Commissioners and manager when he stated, “The Outer Banks is among North Carolina’s most valuable resources with tourism being vital to its economy and our state’s economy. Because of this, the economic impact caused by the recent power outage is one that has been felt by all. As such, it is important to our office that those affected are treated quickly, fairly and respectfully.”
He also stated in that letter, “Our office is encouraged by the direct line of communication between PCL, local government officials and impacted citizens and businesses. The Attorney General’s Office is not taking a position as to whether or not affected individuals should hire their own attorney or participate in the PCL insurer’s claim process. We believe all impacted citizens and businesses should carefully consider all options available to them during this time.”
As stated in our public community meetings, this will be an ongoing and fluid process. Unlike a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, there is no real standard operating procedure and we are all learning as we go and making our greatest attempt to serve those affected.
We appreciate your patience and flexibility as we move forward in this process and will make every effort to keep the public informed at every step of the way.
